Roof support structure for mine workings



April 28, 1959 H. RUTKOWSKI 2,884,272

ROOF SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR MINE WORKINGS Filed Jan. 19, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,April 28, 1959 'H. RUTKOWSKI 2,884,272 I ROOF SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR MINE WORKINGS Filed Jan. 19, 1955 s Sheets-Sheet 2 7 53.6 8 7 a we 5 a April 28, 1959 H. RUTKOWSKI ROOF SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR MINE WORKINGS Filed Jan. 19, 1955 5 Sheet-Sheet a F139 Y J United States Patent Ofiice 2,884,272 Patented Apr. 28, 1959 ROOF SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR MINE WORKING Hans Rutkowski, Homberg, Germany, assignor to Hans Gerlach, Moers (Niederhein), Germany Application January 19, 1955, Serial No. 482,797

4 Claims. (Cl. 28799) The invention relates to a roof support structure for mine workings using props and pivotable girders and proceeds mainly from the fact that in the case of h1therto known support structures of this type it is diflicult to connect the girder for forepoling if a loose hinge pin is used which has to be inserted through holes in the hinge connection in order first of all to suspend the newly added girder and then to swing it upwards against the roof and finally brace it tightly by tightening the tensioning means, for example a transverse wedge. In this operation the new girder, which is of not inconsiderable weight, has to be lifted up and so guided as to bring the holes for the hinge pin into register with one another and to enable the pin to be inserted. It is true that attempts have been made to facilitate the work of suspending and swinging-up the new girder by providing a special pin by means of which the girder was suspended and swung upwards and the hinge pin was only then introduced into its holes. But here again the same troublesome and difiicult work was entailed for inserting the auxiliary pin as would have been necessary for inserting the hinge pin if an auxiliary pin had not been used.

Attempts have also already been made to employ with the girder to be connected a loose pin which can be removed afterwards or else a fixedly arranged pin, and to suspend the forepoling girder on the said pin and then to swing said girder upwards. However, such a construction influences the forepoling system in a particular manner and can only be used when the pin serves at the same time as a hinge part or is removed after the hinge pin proper is inserted in position. Moreover such pins have frequently proved to be weak and could easily be lost.

The invention has as its object to obviate these disadvantages, and it is adapted to be used in a simple manner more particularly with those pivotable girders wherein a hinge head is connected to a hinge fork by means of an insertable pin. The invention consists essentially in that the inter-engaging ends of the pivotable girders are provided with stops or guides which, when two adjacent girders are joined together, forcibly bring the holes for the hinge pin into register at least in the vertical sense. According to the invention, moreover, it is also possible to arrange, at the ends of the inter-engaging pivotable girders, stops or guides by means of which the holes for the pivotable pin can be brought into register with one another also in the longitudinal direction of said girders when the girders are connected to the support structure. With the support structure according to the invention the hinge parts can advantageously engage in one another with projections and recesses in the vicinity of the through holes for the hinge pin.

For example, according to the invention the hinge head of the girder for forepoling which is directed towards the gob side can be provided with lateral bearing studs which bear on special surfaces or against special stops or guides on the end of the previously mounted girder or on the hinge cheeks thereof and thus ensure accurate registering of the holes in the hinge head and in the hinge fork. According to the invention, therefore, the girders hinge head directed towards the gob side can be provided with bearing studs and the forked end of the mounted girder directed towards the coal face can be provided with bearing surfaces and/ or stops for these bearing studs. In this case the stops serve to limit the movement of the hinge head when it is introduced into the fork, up to the point when the holes for the hinge pins coincide exactly both in the vertical and in the longitudinal direction. Of course it is also possible to arrange these stops also on the end of the girder facing the gob, i.e., on the bearing studs.

In this and similar manner the invention is adapted to provide a hinge connection for pivotable girders wherein, without using loose or easily deformable parts, the insertion of the hinge pins is substantially facilitated in that the holes for receiving the hinge pins are previously brought to register with one another in the vertical direction or in the vertical and horizontal directions. In this case the guides employed can be used at the same time for the temporary suspension of the girder which is to be mounted.

Further advantageous features of the invention will be discernable from the drawings, wherein several embodiments of the invention are represented. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in longitudinal section with parts broken away, of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view with parts broken away of another embodiment of the invention;

P Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 5 is a side View with parts broken away of a further embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of the pivot joint of Fig. 5 taken along the line VI-VI of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a side view with parts broken away of another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pivot joint of Fig. 7 taken along the line VIIIVIII of Fig. 7, and

Figs. 9 and 10 are a longitudinal section with parts broken away and a plan view of a still further embodiment.

In the embodiments illustrated, 1 always designates an already mounted girder and 2 the pivotable girder for forepoling, the two girders being connected fast together by means of a removable hinge pin 3 (or 3a as shown in Fig. 10). A transverse bar 4 serves for fixing the forepoling girder 2 and for wedging it against the roof.

. The basis of all the embodiments of the invention is a hinge connection wherein the one end of the girder is constructed as a hinge head and, when the girder is fitted to the support structure, engages in the bifurcated end of the other girder and is then connected thereto by the hinge pin 3 or 3a. Thus each girder has a hinge head at one end and a hinge fork at the other end.

In the embodiment according to Figs. 1 and 2, the hinge head 5 of the forepoling girder 2 is provided at each side with projections 6 in the form of bearing studs, whilst the two checks 8 of the hinge fork of the girder 1 are provided with ridges 7 which can also be fashioned with stops 7a. In this manner, therefore, the forepoling girder 2 can be introduced with the lateral stud projections 6 of its hinge head 5 first of all between the two checks 8 of the girder 1, so that the projections bear on the ridges 7. The girder 2 is thereby already suspended in the girder I, and the holes for the hinge pin 3 in the hinge head and in the checks 8 are brought to the same height. All that is now necessary is to push the hinge head 5 into the fork until the projections 6 come to bear against the stops 7a. The holes in the fork cheeks 8 and in the hinge head 5 are then in register in the longitudinal direction of the girders also, so there is no difficulty in inserting the hinge pin 3 into these holes. The girder 2 can then be swung upwards about the hinge pin 3 and fixed in this position, or tensioned against the roof, by the obliquely disposed bar 4.

In the embodiment according to Figs. 3 and 4, the transverse bar 4a is so arranged that it bears on the end face of the correspondingly constructed hinge head 5 and is thus effective in its direction of taper in the center axis of the pivotable girder I, 2. In this embodiment the projection 12 situated on the hinge head 5 and later bearing on the bar 4:: can serve as stop when the pivotable girder 2 is being suspended, so that in this embodiment the stops 7a can be dispensed with.

Figs. 5 and 6 show an embodiment of the invention wherein the hinge checks 8 are connected by a web 9, arranged under the profile of the pivotable girder 1 and illustrated in longitudinal section in Fig. 5, to form a shoe which is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the girder 1 between the two stops I9 and Mia. Such a construction facilitates the withdrawal of the girder 1, since when the wedge shaped bar 4a is knocked out, the shoe formed by the checks 8 and the web 9 can be displaced from the right-hand stop 14 to the left-hand stop that on the girder 1 and therefore also slides away from the hinge head 5, once the hinge pin 3 has first been removed.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate an embodiment of the invention wherein the hinge checks 8 are connected by a web 11 arranged in the middle plane of the girder 1, and are displaceable in the longitudinal direction in a guide slotting of the girder 1. In this embodiment, moreover, the ridges 7 are arranged both at the top and bottom of the checks 8 of the girder 1. The girders l and 2 can therefore also be connected together in a position pivoted by 180 about their longitudinal axis, if the corresponding abutments for the transverse wedge shaped bar 4a are arranged above and below the hinge pin, as can be seen from Fig. 7 of the drawings.

In the embodiment according to Figs. 9 and 10 the transverse wedge shaped bar 412 and the hinge pin 3a are connected to form one piece and are guided in common through holes of the fork checks 8 and hinge head 5. These holes 13 are in the form of slots in the fork cheeks 8, whilst in the hinge head 5 they are apertures 14 which are so formed as to enable the girder Z to pivot about the transverse wedge shaped bar 4b. In detail: in this embodiment a bottom projection 15 of the hinge head 5 abuts against an abutment 16 between the two fork checks 8, and when the wedge Shaped bar 417 is driven-in, the girder 2 swings upwards about the point of application of the projection 15 against the abutment 16, so that in this case the wedge acts as a lever arm.

The pivotable girder 1 can advantageously be provided with a through hole 17 in which is guided a chain 18 which connects the wedge shaped bar 4b to the end of the hinge pin 3a and is hooked in a suitable eye-piece 20 on the pin 3a by means of a hook 19. Otherwise the construction and employment of this embodiment is the same as has been described with reference to the foregoing examples, and like parts have been designated by like reference numbers. For positioning, the girder 2 is first suspended by the shoulder projections 6 of the hinge head 5 bearing against the ridges 7 of the fork cheeks 8 and then is pushed backwards until the apertures 13 and 14 are brought into register and the hinge pin 3a can be introduced into these apertures. The pivotable girder 2 is then swung upwards by hand and the wedge 4b with the hinge pin 3a is inserted further into the apertures 13 and 14 until the projection 15 comes to bear against the abutment 16. By driving in the wedge 4b further, the girder 2 is then swung upwards until it bears against the roof. For withdrawal, the transverse bar or wedge 4b is driven back suficiently far for the pivotable girder 1 to be capable of swinging downwards about the hinge pin 3a which is now situated in the holes 13 and 14.

Although the drawings all illustrate basically a mine roof support structure wherein the bifurcated end of the girders is directed towards the coal face and the hinge head towards the gob, the invention is not limited to this arrangement. In cases where the hinge head is situated at the coal face end of the girder, the invention can advantageously be carried into effect by providing the hinge head 5 with bearing surfaces and the fork checks 8 with inwardly directed bearing studs.

I claim:

1. Mine supporting structure of the type comprising girders adapted to be connected endwise one to another by a transverse pin at a pivot joint for movement of one said girder about the pivot into roof supporting position, one of said girders having a tongue presenting laterally projecting bosses defining oppositely disposed curved surfaces proximate the end thereof and an aperture extending through said tongue and said bosses transversely of said girder, the other of said girders having a bifurcated end presenting cheeks, said cheeks having aligned transverse apertures and longitudinally extending guiding ledges projecting inwardly toward each other below said apertures adapted to slidingly receive said bosses, said ledges being disposed at a radial distance from the center of and below said apertures in said cheeks equal to the distance from the center of said aperture in said tongue to said curved surfaces, said tongue and said cheeks defining a hinge supporting said girder having said tongue in vertically suspended position for swinging movement from vertically suspended position on said ledges to supported horizontal position.

2. Mine supporting structure of the type comprising girders adapted to be connected endwise one to another by a transverse pin at a pivot joint for movement of one said girder about the pivot into roof supporting position, one of said girders having a tongue presenting laterally projecting bosses defining oppositely disposed curved surfaces proximate the end thereof and an aperture extending through said tongue and said bosses transversely of said girder, the other of said girders having a bifurcated end presenting cheeks, said cheeks having aligned transverse apertures and longitudinally extending guiding ledges projecting inwardly toward each other below said apertures adapted to slidingly receive said bosses, said ledges being disposed at a radial distance from the center of and below said apertures in said cheeks equal to the distance from the center of said aperture in said tongue to said curved surfaces, and at least one conformation defining a stop endwise of one said guiding ledge at said radial distance from the center of said bore in said tongue, said tongue and said cheeks defining a hinge supporting said girder having said tongue in vertically suspended position for swinging movement from vertically suspended position on said ledges to supported horizontal position, and upon locating said bosses upon said ledges and engagement of said bosses with said stop, said aperture in said tongue being in position of alignment with said apertures in said checks to receive the transverse pin.

3. Mine supporting structure of the type comprising girders adapted to be connected endwise one to another by a transverse pin at a pivot joint for movement of one said girder about the pivot into roof supporting position, one of said girders having a tongue presenting laterally projecting bosses defining oppositely disposed curved surfaces proximate the end thereof and an aperture extending through said tongue and said bosses transversely of said girder, the other of said girders having a bifurcated end presenting cheeks, said cheeks having aligned transverse apertures and longitudinally extending guiding ledges projecting inwardly toward each other below said apertures adapted to slidingly receive said bosses, said ledges being disposed at a radial distance from the center of and below said apertures in said cheeks equal to the distance from the center of said aperture in said tongue to said curved surfaces, and having conformations defining stops endwise of said guiding ledges at said radial distance from the center of said aperture in said cheeks and said tongue, said tongue and said cheeks defining a hinge supporting said girder having said tongue in vertically suspended position for swinging movement from vertically suspended position on said ledges to supported horizontal position, and upon locating said bosses upon said ledges and engagement of said bosses with said stops, said aperture in said tongue being in position of alignment with said apertures in said cheeks to receive the transverse pin.

4. Mine supporting structure of the type comprising girders adapted to be connected endwise one to another by a transverse pin at a pivot joint for movement of one said girder about the pivot into roof supporting position, one of said girders having a tongue presenting laterally projecting bosses defining oppositely disposed curved surfaces proximate the end thereof and an aperture extending through said tongue and said bosses transversely of said girder, the other of said girders having a bifurcated end presenting spaced cheeks forming a unitary structure with said other girder for interengagement with said tongue and said bosses, said cheeks having aligned transverse apertures and longitudinally extending guiding ledges projecting inwardly toward each other below said apertures adapted to slidingly receive said bosses, said ledges being disposed at a radial distance from the center of and below said apertures in said cheeks equal to the distance from the center of said aperture in said tongue to said curved surfaces, and having conformations defining stops endwise of said guiding ledges at said radial distance from the center of said apertures in said cheeks and said tongue, said tongue and said cheeks defining a hinge supporting said girder having said tongue in vertically suspended position for swinging movement from vertically suspended position on said ledges to supported horizontal position, and upon locating said bosses upon said ledges and engagement of said bosses with said stops, said aperture in said tongue being in position of alignment with said apertures in said cheeks to receive the transverse pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,749,712 Gerlach June 12, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 502,676 Belgium May 15, 1951 510,564 Belgium Apr. 30, 1952 688,782 Great Britain Mar. 11, 1953 698,672 Great Britain Oct. 21, 1953 

